Ransom
by KaibaGirl007
Summary: If you're brave/stupid enough to kidnap someone who's close to Seto Kaiba, then you better be prepared to pay the price.
1. Chapter 1

_**Dedicated to Dragontamer05**_

 _ **Thank you for the feels and inspiration ^^**_

 **Chapter 1**

"So is today the day? Are you _finally_ going to ask her?"

Seto's eyes wandered from the glow of his laptop screen and over to where Mokuba was sitting at the opposite side of his desk, happily twirling around in the swivel style office chair. He sighed. Sometimes it was hard to believe that his little brother was almost 16 years of age. "Stop. If you _keep_ spinning like that it will come off the axis. _Again_."

His brother's command was obeyed as Mokuba stopped the chair from turning. A huge grin remained plastered on his face. "Don't try to change the subject. _Are you_ or _are you not_ going to ask Kisara to marry you?"

Without saying a word, Seto returned to his work. He and his girlfriend had been together for almost two years now. During that time he'd slowly opened up, sharing himself with her in many ways that nobody else had ever experienced. And although the fact that he'd never once spoken those three little words,- words that scared him so god damn much,- he made sure to express his love in other ways.

In short; they knew each other well. Their love was _very much_ reciprocal and he had often pondered about taking the final step in giving her his wholehearted commitment.

"Oh come on! You've been sitting on that engagement ring for the _past month_ now. Quit stalling and _ask her_ already!"

"It's not as simple as that Mokie." Seto stopped his typing yet again to stare at his brother's giddy face. "I _have_ to wait until the timing is perfect."

"And _when_ would that be?" There was no answer to Mokuba's question, just more clattering of keys. He rolled his eyes, but only a little. Sometimes it was hard to believe,- though perfectly understandable,- that his big brother still harboured the insecurities of their youth. "Kisara _won't care_ about how you propose to her Seto. She's _not_ going to walk away and leave you _just_ because the situation _wasn't_ romantic enough… She loves _you_ for who _you_ are. Nothing more, nothing less."

Deep down he knew his brother's words to be true. But still he couldn't quite vanquish that tiny trace of doubt which wouldn't be remove from his soul, no matter how hard he tried.

"What else are you scared of?" Mokuba asked softly as he saw the distancing look take a hold of his brother's face.

"It doesn't matter." Seto assured with a slight shake of his head. "The point is that _I will_ ask her, but in _my own_ time and not a moment before. Now _quit_ pestering me already or I'll _ban_ you from my office."

" _Hey,_ it's my office too." He shot back before pushing himself away from the desk and over towards his own on the other side of the room. " _Wheee!_ "

An amused smirk crept on Seto's face as he watched the chairs coasters roll across the floor.

* * *

Kisara was slowly coming around from the darkness of unconsciousness. She felt disorientated as she did so and had trouble opening her eyes. Not only that but she then became aware of her hands and feet bound together. Something was far from right.

"Hurry and take the photo before she wakes up." A male voice sounded. "The boss says he wants Kaiba to see her ASAP."

"See what? Where am I?" Panic set in and Kisara's heart began to pound double time. "What have you done to me?!"

"Shit she's awake! Gag her."

She opened her mouth to scream but was soon silenced as the gag was forced into it.

"I told you she'd scream." A female voice stated. "I would too if I was her."

"Yeah, well she can't now." A second male retorted. "Are we done here?"

"For now." The first male confirmed. "Now let's get this e-mail sent."

* * *

"You want a coffee bro?" Mokuba asked as he got up from his seat and stretched the muscles in his back. They'd been working for almost two hours straight and were overdue a break.

"Hmm?"

"Coffee. _Do you_ want one?"

"Yeah,... sure." Seto continued to stare at the facts and figures displayed on the screen in front of him. A small notification window popped up. It snapped him out of his trance as it alerted him to the fact that he'd just received an email. He clicked on it and as he waited to be redirected to his inbox, saw his laptop forced shut.

" _Take_ a break." Mokuba ordered with his hand still firmly holding the device shut. " _Don't_ burn yourself out. _Again_."

Reluctantly Seto agreed and he too got up to stretch his legs and back. "I wasn't focusing on my work just then." He called over to the corner of the room where his brother stood grinding enough coffee for them both.

" _Yeah right!_ What _else_ would you have been doing?"

"Thinking. About what you said earlier… I'm going to do it. _Tonight._ The two of us are going out for dinner anyway, so I guess it _wouldn't hurt_ to propose then."

"For real?!" Mokuba laughed happily as he loaded the coffee into the pot to brew.

"Yes." Seto gave a confident nod. "This time tomorrow, I'll be engaged." He grinned at the thought. His life was gradually falling into place. A happy place on high ground and _not_ in the pit of despair that he'd been thrown into as a boy.

"You know, _after_ marriage _babies_ are usually the _next_ thing on most people's lists."

"One thing at a time Mokie. Let's get the wedding out of the way first before the subject of children is raised." He casually shrugged off the tease. _That's enough stretching; back to work._

Whilst still on his feet, the laptop was opened up and he continued to check his email. His heart fluttered at the sight of seeing a message from Kisara in his inbox. It was almost as if she'd known they'd been talking about her. He clicked and opened it...

 _'I have your girlfriend.'_ The unexpected sound of a distorted voice accompanied by the image of his signifiant other blindfolded, gaged and bound with duct tape made his blood freeze. _Kisara..!_

"Seto? What is it bro?" Mokuba asked with concern as he witnessed the colour drain from his brother's face. He approached to see for himself what had caused such a reaction. As soon as his eyes caught sight of Kisara his hand covered his mouth in an attempt to muffle his gasps of horror. " _Fucking shit!_ "

 _'I want $3million in 50s and 100s.'_ The ransom demand was now being made. _'No consecutive serial, new or marked notes. Do not involve the police or media; if you do I will kill her. If you place tracking devices on the money, again I will kill her. You have 24 hours to gather the ransom. I will contact you then.'_

Both brothers remained silent long after the message had ended.

 _This can't be real! This can't be happening!_ Seto failed to hold back the silent tears seeping down his cheeks. It was his worst nightmare come true.

Mokuba finally found his voice as he looked at his brother forcefully wiping the tears away. "What are we going to do?"

"The only thing that _I_ c-can do." Seto replied with a slight quiver to his vocal cords. He picked up the phone and dialled his bank's number in order to arrange for the meeting that would allow him to withdrew the $3million in cash from his account.


	2. Chapter 2

**Big thank you to Shadowfox26, AmethystUnarmed, FutureStar27, and MikeEdwards71 for leaving reviews.**

 **/)^3^(\**

 **Chapter Two**

 _Kisara loved her job as a Personal Shopper. Not only did it pay well, but her hours were quite flexible as she spent her time creating individual looks for each of her clientele. And despite being employed by the department store, she was her own boss organising her schedule in accordance to her clients needs. This gave her plenty of wiggle room to ensure that her time mostly synced with her workaholic boyfriend's whom she'd met a little over two years ago. Even now the memory of him nervously asking her out still brought a smile to her face._

 _Never had she expected to be invited to dinner as she advised the high profiled CEO on his choice of Issey Miyake attire. It had been just too unreal. They were of completely different worlds; him of wealth and power, and her… well, she came from a background that could only be described as 'working class'. Not that she was ever ashamed of her roots or the fact she'd worked damn hard for what little she had, but because he could have had the pick of ANY girl he wanted and he'd chosen HER. Why?_

 _She'd once questioned him on the very matter and was told that it was 'Destiny' accompanied by an extremely smug,- and slightly alcohol intoxicated,- grin. Whether or not he'd been serious or playfully mocking her with such a response, she didn't query. There was no reason to. In her heart she loved him and although he hadn't said it aloud she knew he loved her in return. Something about the way his face lit up as though she was the sun at the centre of his universe made her heart soar each time they were together. It was a feeling she never wanted to let go and prayed that it wouldn't ever abandon her as long as they were together. Would that be forever? She sure hoped so._

" _Do you fancy something Spanish?" Seto asked as his voice sounded out from the cellphone pressed up to Kisara's ear. "Sant Pau or Cicada's perhaps?"_

" _No, I'm not in the mood for either of those." She responded to his restaurant suggestions for later that evening. "How about that Peruvian place that we haven't tried yet?"_

" _I still don't see what's wrong with a good steakhouse. Why do you two always pick somewhere fancy?" Mokuba's voice came down the line which indicated that the speakerphone was obviously in use as she conversed with her boyfriend in their Kaiba Corp office. No doubt Seto was probably busy working as they spoke and his brother occupied in some other manner, most likely spinning around on his chair if she had to guess._

" _Bepocah's it is then." Seto confirmed without so much as a verbal response to his brother's comment, though Kisara could clearly envision him having rolled his eyes. "I'll pick you up at six."_

" _Okay, I'll see you then." Kisara confirmed before quickly adding, "Oh, and just one more thing."_

" _Yeah?"_

" _I love you Seto." Ever since her boss had lost their fiancee to cancer several months back, Kisara made sure to tell her boyfriend she loved him at every opportunity she got. Life could be cruel and unpredictable. If something bad were to happen to her, she wanted him to know how she felt so that there wouldn't ever be any doubt regarding the feelings she'd had for him._

" _Ditto." He replied before ending the call. It hurt a little not to hear him say the same thing back, but she wouldn't admit it, nor would she force him to say it. He'd do so in his own time, she'd just have to remain patient._

 _The streets she was walking down were becoming more and more crowded as a parade or protest of some kind caused several road closures to Kisara's usual route. Fed up of the bumping and shoving of the inconsiderate people that went by, she aimed to find an alternative route into the city centre._

 _As Kisara went to select the map on her phone her work inbox opened. For a moment she abandoned the current task at hand as a client was in dire need of her expertise. Still with people knocking her as they past, she began to compose a reply e-mail..._

... That was as much as Kisara could remember. Laying in the terrifying darkness of her blindfolded vision, she desperately tried to recall what had led to this point but failed to uncover all details of what had happened. The only thing she was certain of was that she'd been on her way to work when she had been kidnapped. In broad daylight. How could people _not_ have noticed and intervened? Was anyone _aware_ she was even missing?

The strangers from a few moments ago mentioned taking photos and emailing Seto. Would he come to her rescue? Of course he would, she knew he'd stop at nothing to find her. The question now was, _could_ he find her? And would she still be alive when he did?

Hot tears began to ooze from her eyes only to collect behind the duct tape covering her vision. The gag in her mouth muffled the sobs trying to escape from within and mucus slowly began to drip from her nose. It was hard not to think of the worst happening to her given the situation that she was in.

Once Kisara's distraught had been briefly dispelled she focused on attempting to get free and away from her captors. _I have to at least try to get myself out of here._ She told herself as she struggled with the tape wrapped around her wrists and hands... But it was no good. It had been wound too tight and repeatedly for her to even loosen it.

Next she raised her hands close to her face and tried to remove the gag. No good either, it was tied too tight to shift.

She then tried to peel the strip from across her eyes. It was hard work since her digits were all uncomfortably crushed together and beginning to go numb from the lack of blood circulating in them, but if she continued to persevere then she'd gradually wear away the adhesiveness and have her sight returned.

"Hey, don't do that!" The higher pitched sounding male shouted.

Kisara swiftly turned her head in the direction of the voice and caught a brief glimpse of her kidnappers via the small gap she had made before it flapped closed. The male she assumed to have just spoken was short, wore glasses and had a bowl haircut.

"Shit! Do you think she saw us?" The other male she'd seen was slightly taller than the first and wore a beanie hat on top of his long shaggy hair.

"I hope not." Glasses replied with a slight tone of panic.

There was the sound of duct tape being pulled from the roll. Another layer was then forcefully added to Kisara's face, resealing the first strip back in place to cover her eyes completely.

"You two shouldn't be in here without me present!" The annoyed female,- whom she hadn't seen,- presumably just entered the room.

"Relax, we're just going to cuff her to the bed frame as the boss instructed." Beanie Hat snapped back. "It's not like we're going to rape her or anything… at least not yet."

His voice sent a chill down Kisara's spine and she unintentionally let out a muffled cry of terror from the thought of him trying to have his way with her.

"Look what you've done!" The woman sounded even more annoyed with the male. "Your disgusting taunt is causing her unnecessary trauma! Just cuff her and get out!"

A moment later Kisara felt herself grabbed by two pairs of hands as the tape binding her wrists was cut. Before she had the chance to thrash at the men, her arms were simultaneously pulled above her head and fixed in place on the metal frame so that they were spread wide at either side of her. _Why? Why are they doing this to me?_

"Can't we just cop a quick feel?"

" _OUT!_ " The woman roared at hearing Glasses' sickening request.

After a grumbling protest from the two men, the room door slammed shut. Kisara's heart anxiously pounded in her chest as she lay there defenceless and completely at the mercy of her captors. Was she alone once more, or had the woman remained behind?

Her question was soon answered as a soft female voice spoke to her. "I know you're scared, but trust me when I say that no harm will come to you. All we want is the ransom money. Once it's paid, you'll be free to go. That's a promise."

The gag was now removed to allow Kisara the chance to talk. " _Who_ are you and _why_ are you doing this?" She demanded in the most threatening tone that she could muster.

"You may call me M. The others you don't need to know. Their contact with you will be minimal and they will never be left alone with you. As for why this is happening… I'm afraid that I'm not permitted to say."

"Not _permitted_ or not _willing_ to say?"

There was silence for a moment before M next spoke. "You sound just like him."

"Like who?"

"Like Seto of course. Demanding and challenging what's said to try and create the illusion of confidence in a situation were you have none... You're definitely _his_ woman."

Kisara froze for a moment. There weren't that many people allowed the privilege of calling her boyfriend solely by his first name, and even fewer that knew of the reasons why he behaved like he did. Her brows narrowed with suspicion. " _WHO_ are you?"

"I told you, I'm M. That's all you need to know."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Only an extremely small percentage of people could say that they'd physically seen $3 million in person. The rest wouldn't even have a clue what it looked like. Of course it would all depend on the value of the notes,- or even coins,- used to total such an amount. Going by the kidnapper's request this resulted in Seto collecting four metal cases filled to the brim with notes from the bank.

No questions had been raised as to why the CEO required such a sum of money at short notice. Nor why it was requested in US dollars instead of Yen. Even if the tellers and bankers had asked, they knew that they would have most likely been told that it was none of their business. Instead they made their own conclusion and assumptions that he was just organising another publicity stunt similar to the outrageousness of the rocket sent into space a couple of years back. Not that there'd been anything strange for him to send a rocket into orbit,- he'd sent up enough satellites and even a space station already,- but the fact that it had been loaded with trading cards caused some people to question his sanity.

The money had been counted twice in front of him at the bank before the withdrawal had been finalised, but that didn't stop Seto from counting it for the umpteenth time in the confinement of his Kaiba Corp office. It was all he could think of to do and keep his mind occupied from thinking morbid thoughts of his girlfriend's current wellbeing.

Slowly the door opened and a concerned sleepy eyed Mokuba entered. "It's late, you should get some rest."

"I won't sleep until Kisara's returned." Another tally mark for the bundle of notes he'd just counted was marked down before reaching for the next bundle on his desk.

"Won't or can't?"

"Both." Seto heaved a reluctant sigh. There was no point trying to hide how he felt from his brother. Mokuba knew him too well and would only wrangle it out of him some other way if he did attempt to disguise it.

"You have to try-…"

" _I CAN'T!_ " The distraught roar silenced the younger brother though it didn't faze him in the slightest. Over the years he'd grown so use to the other's short fuse and reluctant behaviour when angered or scared.

Recognising the cry for help, Mokuba calmly approached his brother's desk and sat down in the vacant chair. He would never abandon him in a time of need, no matter how hard the other may resistantly thrash, both mentally and physically. "It's going to be okay Seto."

" _Don't._ " He spat and angrily tossed the bundle of notes back onto the desk's surface before slumping back in his chair. Hands raised and shielded his face as the urge to loudly wail his feelings of helplessness aloud tried to take control.

"Let it out." Mokuba encouraged as he defiantly continued to suggest a way for his brother to alleviate the despair that he felt. "You'll feel better for it once it's free from your system."

 _No. I will not show such weakness in front of you._ Seto breathed deeply, regained his composure and lowered his hands. "I know that you mean well Mokie, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to get my hopes up or sugarcoat the situation with false assurances."

"They're not false…. she _WILL_ be okay."

"No." He shook his head with a slight hysterical laugh. Sometimes his brother's naivety was shocking. "You don't know that. There's no way you can be certain."

"With all due respect, I _know_ what the fuck I'm talking about Seto." Mokuba's voice was firmer and bolder than usual as he stood against the aversion to the reassurance he'd given. "Going by my own past kidnapping experiences, whoever has taken Kisara is not likely to harm her. Not if they genuinely want the money they've demanded. They know that to do so will only infuriate you and if that were the case then you'd be less likely to cooperate and give them exactly what they want."

"And what if you're wrong?" Seto contested as he leant forward on his desk. "What if they aren't in it solely for the ransom and are merely using her as bait for some kind of revenge? You've seen plenty of people throw accusations my way, hell bent on ruining me in whatever manner they can, even when the stick up their ass has had nothing to do with me personally -…"

There was a light knock on the door.

A perplexed look was sent Mokuba's way. "I ordered everybody to go home hours ago... Who else is still here?"

"Roland. And before you get mad, _I_ asked him to stay. He wants to help us, and god knows we need it." Seeing his brother's defeated acceptance as Seto sank back in his chair Mokuba raised his voice to grant the man entrance. "Come on in!"

The door opened and Roland stepped in. "It's late. You boys should get some sleep before the night is through."

"Pfft, the night's already through, it's gone 3AM." The younger brother smirked.

" _STOP THAT!_ " Seto snapped upon seeing the curve of his brother's lips and brought his fist down on the desk with a loud thump. With two pairs of eyes focused on him he looked directly at Mokuba. " _HOW_ can you even joke after what's happened during the past 24 hours?"

"Just chill. I was only replying to Roland's comment-…"

"And did it _really_ justify such frivolity?"

 _Actually, YES it did!_ Mokuba bit down on his tongue in order to stop himself from saying something that he might regret. He understood that Kisara was important to his brother but she wasn't the absolute be-all and end-all of everyone else's lives. The light-hearted moment shared with their most trusted friend had been needed if he was to keep his own sanity and not give way to despair like the other had.

"Seto you're tired." Roland waded in to prevent the brothers from arguing further. He hated it on the rare occasions when they fought, usually over something meaningless. "You need to rest. Wearing yourself out _isn't_ going to help the matter at hand."

 _Why are they teaming up against me?_ The CEO shook his head."No, I won't rest. Not until she's safe and back by my side."


End file.
